TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It seems an issue regarding seating will keep members of Alabama's marching band from traveling to Austin, Texas, this weekend when the Crimson Tide takes on the Longhorns.
In a statement to the Birmingham Newspaper, the university said its band would not be at the game on Saturday.
“Due to the seating location and configuration of the visiting institution’s ticket allotment at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, the Million Dollar Band will not make the trip this weekend for the Alabama at Texas football game,” Alabama said in the statement.
According to the AL.com and The Tuscaloosa News, some tickets are allotted by universities for visiting fans.
The news outlets reported that the Southeastern Conference (SEC) has game arrangements that allow visiting fans to sit in the upper and lower bowels. The Big 12, however, does not have such an agreement, so Texas placed Alabama in the nosebleeds.
According to the news outlets, Texas doing this to visiting fans isn't anything new.
In 2019, Lousiana State University's marching band was also placed in the nosebleeds, the news outlets reported.
When news of LSU's seating arrangement began trending on social media, Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte took to Twitter to explain.
“We moved the visitors section from the lower bowl to give our students a contiguous student section thus creating a fantastic atmosphere for in DKR.. if a visiting team elects to bring their band must sit in the seats allotted for visitors," Del Conte said.
We moved the visitors section from the lower bowl to give our students a contiguous student section thus creating a fantastic atmosphere for in DKR.. if a visiting team elects to bring their band must sit in the seats allotted for visitors. https://t.co/cS7c1tbS3t
— Chris Del Conte (@_delconte) September 23, 2018
